Backup on Connect?

[sjs]

Originally Posted by matts

Ok.
...couldn't it then also maybe be possible to make the actual mounting of that volume trigger the backup in the first place (or the smart update of the image - which for me would be super!)?

THANK YOU for the great new Backup on Connect feature. EXCELLENT.

I strongly second matts features request. Please consider:

I was just considering the reasons why I don't use Time Machine and why I am always drawn to use it. I use it for many clients yet not for myself.
It comes down to the fact that I really appreciate the set it and forget it nature of TM. I can tell clients to just plug in the drive as often as they can, and TM will automagically back up. Even better, a remote mac can be natively backed up to with TM. A sparsebundle gets deposited there. I can tell clients... Do NOTHING. It will backup. Or at most, click on this MenuItem to force a backup. TM will then mount the remote volume if it isn't already. Then it will mount the sparsebundle. Then it will do the copy. Then it will unmount everyhing. Very very convenient.

Why don't I like it for myself? I prefer bootable clone copies. I don't want/need the version control TM provides and consider it more a security risk for myself and certain clients.

So some clients I have use SuperDuper instead, which forces them onto SD's schedule and not their own. I made an iCal reminder as to when to switch the proper one of many rotating drives (offsite storage). It worked, but it was clunky. It was too easy to plug the wrong drive in at the wrong time and make SD unhappy.

Now you've totally solved that problem for clients backing up to external media with the new Backup on Connect. THANK YOU.

This makes life easier for me, I can now use this for myself and a few clients. THANK YOU.

But what I'd really like to do, is eliminate TM from most if not all of my clients. I just don't see most of the value of TM, but I do see many TM negatives including: 1) ever growing target drives 2) sparse bundles that can get confused and start deleting almost everything in them (if you ever have a bundle's internal size set larger than the host drive's size it resides on. possible if you relocate a bundle) 3) security implications of having documents on the drive you thought were deleted 4) non bootable media 5) restore process requires Leopard DVD and much downtime.

The one remaining value of TM is its ease at backing up to remote mac volumes (or Time Capsule/Airport Extreme), both due to its automount/autoeject of network volumes, and its easy menubar item.

So I'd like to second this request to include automount/eject and autocopy to network volumes--- so I can be rid of Time Machine forever.

If it had an easy to use Menubar item, like Time Machine, so much the better, clients would then easily see and understand what is going on.

Submitted for your consideration.... Thank you for your great work and continuing to improve SD.
Kind Regards.